Qatar's Haj pilgrims safe, begin journey back home

The first groups of Qatar's pilgrims was to begin their return to the homeland on Wednesday after performing the Haj rituals this year with complete ease. In a statement on Tuesday, Deputy Head of the Medical Services Unit at the Qatari Haj Mission, Mishal Abdullah al-Musaifri, said that all Qatar's pilgrims are fine and in good health, indicating that they will return to the homeland safe and sound on Wednesday and Thursday after completing their Haj.He added that all cadres of the Medical Services Unit, including specialised doctors, accompanied Qatar's pilgrims during their performance of all rituals, starting on the day of al-Tarwiyah in Mina, then in Arafat, as well as during the journey to Muzdalifah. He indicated that the Medical Services Unit continued to provide healthcare to the state's pilgrims during the days of Tashreeq, through the presence of all members of the unit with the pilgrims in the Mina camps since their return from Muzdalifah, during the first and second days of the days of Tashreeq, until all the pilgrims left to stone the Jamarat, where medical clinics for men and women operate around the clock.Regarding diseases during the Haj season, the Deputy Head of the Medical Services Unit at the Qatari Haj Mission said that most of the diseases during the Haj season centered around respiratory diseases and infections, noting that the medical staff at the Haj mission followed up on all the cases that visited the unit, and most of them were mild or moderate cases due to the common cold and coughs, some of which are due to the heat stress to which pilgrims are exposed due to the high temperatures.Regarding emergency or critical medical cases, Dr al-Musaifri said that they were examined and provided with urgent and necessary healthcare, and then transferred to Mina Hospital, which is close to the headquarters of the pilgrims of Qatar. He noted that the Haj Mission contracted with a number of private hospitals in Makkah Al Mukaramah and near Qatar pilgrims' residences to treat cases that require hospitalisation.